Letters

Fiberglass or “Filterglass”? I liked the article about your energy-efficient home in a recent Home Energy (“Design, Construction, and Performance in Ohio,” Jan/Feb ’07, p. 36). Sounds like a well-thought-out home. The only comment I have is regarding your use of fiberglass in the walls. I was an energy auditor for a Vermont weatherization program for six years and have done hundreds of infrared scans on fiberglass-insulated homes. Fiberglass, or “filterglass,” as I like to call it, just does not live up to its billing unless it is installed in an airtight cavity. Now your walls sound pretty airtight, but I think you would have been much better off using spray-applied cellulose in the walls (the 2-inch exterior foam board is excellent, by the way). I think we have to send a message to the fiberglass manufacturers and to the builders still using it that their fiberglass batts are an inferior product. I built my home with fiberglass insulation before I learned these things and have since tightened my 2,000 ft2 home to 600 CFM50. However, on a cold day, all of my outlets on exterior walls are ...